Lunar Dance
by F.A.Jackson
Summary: Celestia has tried to kept this a secret for a long time but it's time that everyone learns the truth! This tale is brought to you from beyond the grave. A tale of a horrible unicorn who took advantage of my daughters. Come, and listen to The Great Star Swirl the Bearded.
1. From the Beginning

**A/N: I know it's short but this is an intro and everything else from here on out will be very...complicated. **

Luna cried atop the clouds. "I won't do it."

Celestia stepped back, alarmed. "What are you talking about?"

"I won't lower the moon."

Celestia stepped forward. She put a comforting hoof around her sister. "You can't honestly intend to make night last forever Luna. We create harmony and balance. If you don't lower the moon, it would just make all of our loyal subjects unhappy."

"And what of me? Aren't I allowed to be happy?" My younger daughter's eyes filled with tears. "He made me happy dear sister. Why…Why did you lock him away?"

"You must understand! He was not a good colt. His heart was filled with darkness. He needed to be banished." Celestia was tired of trying to reason with her sister. They had had this argument about him numerous times. Neither of them were budging on the issue. This was very much clear to me.

"Would you do the same to me if my heart was filled with darkness…? Do our subjects mean more to you than I do? No one in this kingdom cares for me, neither my subjects nor you." Luna closed her eyes and dark shadows surrounded her, shrouding her with its power. Before me stood a mare that was no longer my sweet daughter. She was stronger, taller, and much more sinister. "I refuse to be in your shadow anymore! Your dawn will be greeted by my darkness!" My daughters prepared themselves to fight for my kingdom, even if it meant a fight to the death.

There was nothing I could do of course. I was already dead. Perhaps I should start from the beginning. My name is Star Swirl the Bearded. I was first and foremost the most powerful unicorn of all time. I knew spells and incantations that could befuddle even the greatest of show ponies, reverse hexes and curses, and could even turn back time, but that's all beside the point.

You see, I had an apprentice. Her name was Clover the Clever. We had a relationship that was very…unprofessional. For that reason, I could never marry her. All that aside, I did love her dearly. She gave birth to my daughters: Celestia, and Luna. They were both very intelligent, and magic came easily to them. I acted as their counselor and on my deathbed, I gave them a book of spells that I had completed and a final spell that would help them unlock what I believed would be true magic.

I was right of course, as I always am. My two daughters became alicorns and they learned magic that I never could. Using that glorious magic, they ruled over Equestria, the land that their mother and her friends had founded. However, they were not the only ones who understood that magic. Private Pansy, also had a daughter, Cadence, who understood it and joined their ranks as a princess. Smart Cookie's son, Sombra, could not. And because he was a unicorn, the Earth ponies would not acknowledge him as their king.

Equestria now had three rulers. Cadence did not want to fight my daughters for the crown and under a little advice from an unnamed charming source, decided to travel and lands and hone her magic. As she was born a Pegasus, my magic had given her a horn and the ability to use it. She left Canterlot and did not return for nearly a thousand years.

Meanwhile, trouble was brewing in Equestria. Clover could not live forever, nor was her lifespan much longer than that of a normal pony's. Her death caused a rift in our daughter's hearts. Without her mother's comforting presence, no one acknowledged Luna's beautiful nights. The ponies lit thousands of candles in fear of her dark clouds and long shadows.

Luna walked through the fields every night and entered the dreams of terrified ponies. Despite her beautiful moon, they were still afraid of the darkness that the sun left. She only saw happy dreams if there was her sister's sun in them. And thus, her heart grew green with envy.

**A/N:Because of the fact that I have three stories running, I'll update whichever story gets the most attention each week. Brony on. **


	2. Mutual Unease

**A/N: Since I haven't touched this story in a ridiculously long time, I'll have to change how I meant for this to go so I changed the ending of the second chapter. It'll move on normally from here as I follow my current schedule. **

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Luna blew out the candle before a sleeping pony. Her dream was a peaceful one. Swimming with her beloved in Equestria's pools. There wasn't a single shadow on the ground or a cloud in the sky. Luna left the pony's dream, and continued her stroll down fields.

My younger daughter was capable of much, walking through dreams, raising the sun and moon, and she could also use spells her sister could not. In fact, my younger daughter could even be considered as the stronger of the two. That was not the only requirement to be a ruler however. She also needed to be able to communicate with her subjects, and despite her many appearances with her sister, she was unable to actually do so with the ponies in her kingdom. That was passed on from me.

"What am I to do…Who shall I talk to?" Luna sighed. "Mother…Can somepony inform me as to why I exist…?"

"No one will answer you." A dark pony answered. "Celestia plays God, but she leaves ponies waiting in the dust. She doesn't really hear our prayers."

She turned to look at him now, this dark pony. He didn't just have a dark coat, but his heart was filled with darkness as well. "Sombra, and what are you doing frolicking aboust my night?"

"Hmm? An alicorn? And one who knows my name still. I had suspected all you princesses had forgotten me. Celestia certainly has." He added bitterly.

"Ahh, yes. There was that little engagement between the two of you. Whatever happened to that?"

"She broke it when she transcended into an alicorn. Are you Cadence perhaps? Or even the younger Luna?"

Luna didn't answer now. She wasn't afraid of answering. She didn't have any reason to be afraid. Something did stop her however, and her silence disturbed Sombra. He was planning to seduce my daughter, and her lack of conversation ability was an obstacle for him. "Princess Luna then. The youngest of the three princesses, and the easiest one to forget."

"How dare you! Have you forgotten your princess?! We are not a pony to be mocked. Nearly a thousand years, We've been your princess for nearly a thousand years, and you dare speak to us in such a manner?!" Luna's voice boomed. This was said slightly above her natural volume, which was already close to a shout.

"You've got a temper on you. Pampered as a child I assume?" Sombra answered, he was smiling. Something he only did when things were going his way.

"What is this temper of which you speak of?! We possess no temper! This is an outrage!" She stamped her hoof on the ground, cracking the earth and causing a mild earthquake.

"Walk with me Luna, and you needn't talk to me as a peasant. We were all born to the predecessors of this kingdom, even if I didn't become a prince like the three of you. Despite my horn, I don't know magic."

"But that's preposterous!" Despite her better judgment, my dear Luna followed the heinous colt down the countryside. She was always too curious for her own good. Luna walked beside him, a peasant, and a reject of my first daughter. The fact that she would subject herself to the company of this colt was idiotic. There they were, staring into a pond, illuminated by the moonlight.

This was her second mistake. She spent her night there, doing absolutely nothing but sit beside Sombra. It was an utter waste of time, as she ignored the ponies behind her. The pond was empty of course, as all the ponies of Equestria were sleeping. Ignoring her duties as a princess, night wore on until her sister decided to lower the moon to make way for her morning sun.

The next morning, both of my daughters were furious. Their arguments did not subside as they normally would have. Celestia was angry that her sister could forget her duty to her ponies and their kingdom. A simple apology was what she was after but Luna is much too proud to give her that. Her pride had been wounded. A position that she had held for nearly a millennia was taken away from her overnight.

"Sister had no right to lower my moon." Luna's haughty response was indignant. She wouldn't normally talk to her sister that way, but that colt had probably put her under one of his spells. He was always one of dark magic.

Celestia remained silent. She wasn't very good at upfront argumentation. All of her fighting was behind closed doors and settled quietly. Arguing things out was never her strong suit. If I hadn't seen their birth myself, I would've never believed them to be sisters. Without a response from her sister, Luna left Equestria like a fool.

She had been a princess her entire life. She had nowhere to go, and no one who would truly treat her as anything but royalty. She could never truly understand the ponies who only opened their dreams and not their hearts to her.

Several nights after their argument, she arrived in the Cloudsdale. Many of the ponies there simply slept on the clouds and she joined them. It would be a horrible position to be in during a war but this was a time of peace. At least, the citizens were at peace while their gods waged war.

On one particular starry night, my younger daughter watched as shooting stars fell. She clasped her hoofs together and made a wish. When she opened her eyes again, that wretched unicorn was in her line of sight. "What did you wish for?"

She wisely ignored his question but she foolishly asked him one of her own, "We're lying on clouds. How are you capable of standing on them when you're not even a Pegasus?"

"Magic. I don't know magic like you do, but that doesn't mean I don't try." This was a contradiction of what he had said earlier. It was obvious that he was lying but Luna's eyes were blinded by a companion. She was lonely, and that is the only excuse for the behavior she exhibited in his presence.

As I said earlier, she didn't notice that he had lied earlier and just went along with their conversation. "I see. And what is a unicorn doing intruding on his princess' personal thoughts?"

"Well, you have yet to share them, and it's not intruding if you let me in on them." His reply was regrettably a witty one and she seemed to think the same. She stood up on her cloud and they returned to the earth where they could both walk around undeterred.

This is where my daughter made her third mistake. The next time she did so, I had lost count. She had let this colt enter her life when he was obviously trying to turn her against her duties. The more time she spent with him, the less she wanted to return home and see Celestia.

"So, Luna, what problems could an omnipotent princess have?" He tried to play it off as if he didn't care about his answer, but I know he did.

"Certain things you wouldn't understand." A clever response from her.

"There is little I wouldn't understand. I live longer than the other ponies, almost as long as you. I've been rejected, and live in the shadow of you three princesses." This was just a plea for sympathy. There wasn't anything to be sympathetic for and yet, there my daughter was, shock and sympathy registering on her face.

"Have you done anything to try and change your situation? Have you tried to learn the magic that Starswirl the Beareded left behind? He was a great unicorn." She mentioned me in a tone of reverence. It was a welcome thing.

"Yes. I have heard of a place. In the darkest parts of Equestria, where there is a fountain that grants the most powerful magic in the world. I've been there but to no avail. There have been no changes in me. If you are willing to join me, I would not mind showing you what I've found." My daughter nodded her consent and this is where she made her next mistake and all the consequent mistakes in her life.

The cave they were going to was not just any normal cave. The place that Sombra took her was never meant to be found.


	3. The Grave of the Tribes

**A/N: I'm being to think that my characterization of Starswirled is extremely off but I don't really care about that since I didn't really care for him at all besides that one episode of Lunar Night. Also, I've always liked Sombra, especially since there is almost nothing about him that we know of. It makes him the perfect character for fan fictions. Cheerio Luna fans.**

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"What is this cave like?" Luna inquired as their journey started.

He thought about it for a moment. To me, it would've seemed like he was using the time to develop a lie but the description was pretty accurate. "It's cold, at the heart of the Crystal Mountains. The entire place is incased in ice. The ice is blue as well, and you can see through it. If you go very deep into the caves, you'll reach a fountain that shoots out orange water."

"Is it a scary place?" Her voice was proud, full of curiosity but it held no fear. That tone of voice was needed for a ruler and a ruler she would be become. It would have been a lot faster had Sombra not been involved.

Sombra and Luna were moving in the direction of the Frozen North. It would've been a quicker journey had Sombra not been there but Luna's foolishness would not send him away. She believed that his knowledge could help her. Luna was not a very social pony. The fact that she was allowing him to guide her to the cave meant that she trusted him and believed him to be capable. My dear Luna was sorely mistaken.

They spent the rest of their journey to the north talking and resting at various locations along the way. Cloudsdale is one of the closer cities to the Frozen North so it was not too long of a walk. There were also few towns along the way. They had to buy food from travelling salespony along way. Luna did not think they would need it but Sombra insisted on it. For once in his miserable life, he had been right.

As someone who had been trained as an Earth pony you would believe he had better stamina but that it not so. Although Sombra was worn out by the end of each day Luna did not seem to mind. She was patient with him and waited for him to regain his breath. That was not something she was willing to do even for Celestia. The last pony whom she had been willing to do that for was Snowdrop. However, she had not seen that little filly in a very long time.

Within a few days, they arrived at the foothills of the mountains. The valleys were deep and although they did not need to climb to the peek, it was a very exhausting trip. By the time my poor Luna made it to the caves, she was completely out of breath. Sombra did the only thing that would've seemed natural at this point and shared some of his food with her.

This was, no doubt, another attempt to get into her good graces. Had he not offered her any food, it would've proved once and for all that he was a bad pony and my Luna would finally pull her wits together to stay away from him. However, he kept up the act and played the nice pony by acting kind and considerate.

"Should we rest, Princess?"

"I'm fine, are we close?" She said that even though she was breathing heavily and drinking all of the water that he offered her.

He nodded and gave her an apple. "The opening is just a few feet to our left. I've got some lettuce too if you need it. The fountain is very deep into the cave. It is impossible to go that far into the cave without a light source and resting yourself properly. You need some food and rest."

"Then let us go..." However, not long after she said those words, she collapsed on the ground. Sombra rushed to her side, a look of false concern on his face. "No. We will rest inside the cave for tonight. You've barely eaten anything during our journey and you haven't drunk any water at all. You may be a god, but you're also a pony. Learn to rest." His face was resolute and the stubborn mule that he was would not listen to anything anyone else had to say.

They spent the night at the entrance of the cave, which had once been used to store food for the earth tribe. The land had once been fruitful and the trading grounds for the three tribes. That all changed when the windigos decided to feed off their hatred for one another.

"History says that many ponies died because of that strange winter caused by the windigos. Is that why this place is so empty?" Luna's curiosity surfaced once again. She knew the answer to this question as it was something that she had studied, but she always wanted to know more.

"That story is why our parents became regarded as leaders. Chancellor Puddinghead. Princess Platinum, and Commander Hurricane died here. Their fighting lasted for eternity and is said to be the only thing left that fuels the windigo's powers. Our mothers saved everypony who was left, and moved them to the center of Equestria. That is why they were deemed as the new rulers and why you were called the princess."

"You're wrong." Finally! My daughter showed signs that she was not completely brain dead and stood up for the truth, defying his wicked lies. I was not born with the title of princess. Neither was Cadence nor Celestia. All of us won our right to be rulers by solving the puzzle left behind by Starswirl and transcending the natural boundaries of ponylore. Anyone could come to understand them and by that standard, anyone can become royalty."

Sombra was quiet for a moment, perhaps considering the thought of himself becoming royalty and usurping the two sisters, "Do you believe yourself to be naïve, my princess?"

Luna's eye grew wide with confusion, "Why do you ask that?"

"Do you think that anyone could become royalty? I do not believe that I am fit to be king. I do not ask for it. I merely want to be respected, as you are, as your sister is. Celestia left me behind. The Earth ponies do not care for me at all. Everypony believes it would've been better had I never been born." Sombra's desperate plea for attention was too obvious for me to buy. He was merely grasping at Luna's heartstrings and being the kind and sympathetic pony that she was, she could not deny him that.

The two of them did not speak to each other again for the rest of the night. They both fell asleep to the quiet of the cave, each dreaming of their own sad dreams. Sombra was an evil colt, that was true enough, but he was also someone who had been through much shame as a pony. It would be the fuel that would someday cause him to imprison the crystal ponies.

The next morning, when Luna awoke, Sombra was gone. He had left her his food and nothing else. My deduction is that he had left her behind to venture further into the cave alone. He had believed that the fountain in this cave would grant him great magic and he was right to believe so. However, it was not the magic that Luna expected.

She used her horn for light and took his food with her. She did not search for him, as she shouldn't have. However, when she had woken up alone, she should have just left the cave altogether. The fact that she had stayed to venture was completely out of line for her.

She used her horn to illuminate the cave and made her way through every twist and turn. The further into the cave she ventured, the more ice there were. The ice was no longer blue either. It had slowly turned green and illuminated the cavern for her. There were many paths but the gleaming green ice crystals seemed to guide her in the direction she needed to go.

At last, she came upon the fountain with the glowing green water. It was the essence of windigo power. After the war between the three tribes had ended, the windigos had grown quite weak. They no longer had any source of power besides the three leaders who had sacrificed their lives for the fight. This fountain was their final resting place. The power that the old tribes had given them was stored here. If a pony with a heart of envy and hatred were to arrive, the darkness would consume them. And so, on this night, a pony had arrived that fit that qualification.

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**A/N: If there are any mistakes and errors in grammar and punctuation, please message me about them because that kind of thing really bothers me as a writer. I also wrote this chapter as I was watching a Let's play so the chances of there being errors is ridiculously high. **


	4. Change of Power

**A/N: My god, I'm late. I'm the worst at keeping to my schedule. If you read Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons, I'll be uploading a new chapter or two very soon or what I think is very soon. Digimon is keeping me crazy occupied these days. **

Luna left the cavern not long after she had reached the fountain. Sombra was waiting for her outside, a look of false concern on his face. "What happened?"

Luna's eyes were cold and regal, that was to be expected for someone who was a princess. I was very happy that she was acting like the royalty she was instead of a peasant horse. "We could ask you the same question. You disappeared the moment my back was turned. Suspicious behavior, don't you think?"

Sombra looked away. "Did something happen? You're using the royal pronouns again" Perhaps he had known Luna was capable of reading minds through the eyes. Even if he did not, the look on my daughter's face was daunting. It would scare anypony, never mind a simple stallion like Sombra.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with. I merely realized that this entire trip was a waste of time. The fountain you showed me was useless, as are you. I see no reason to continue this journey. I will be returning to my sister's side by tonight. Good luck with your pathetic endeavor." Luna turned her nose and flew off toward Equestria. Without the earth pony to slow her down, her speed was unmatched.

By nightfall, she had already returned to her expectant sister's side. Celestia did not think her sister would be gone for long. Luna was brash but she was not a fool. Celestia received her sister with open wings, joyous at her return. However, Luna was not quite as pleased to see the other princess.

"Sister! What's happened to you these past few nights? I've had to raise the moon every night since you've been gone." Celestia's voice was filled with surprise and joy to see her. There was also a hint of concern that neither of them could quite place. "Where have you been all this time?"

"That is none of your concern sister. I've decided to learn a little more about magic and what Equestria has to offer. I've learned something very important about myself. Would you like to know what it is?" It was at this moment that she did something that no one expected of her. There was no reason for her to do it. The only possible explanation for her actions was that she was possessed by some sort of demon.

Celestia nodded at her sister's question, but Luna did not give her an answer. Her wings lifted her into the air and a magic beam blasted her sister back against a cloud. The blow did not affect the older alicorn as much as they expected but it did deliver the message she wanted. "Luna…What are you doing?"

"I am taking my rightful place as the only princess of Equestria." Her eyes were made of ice. Her magic was stronger. Her visit to the fountain had indeed strengthened her powers. It was so magnificent in fact, that had I been there it would have been a wonderful experience. Her magic would be the fascination of every ponylosopher for years to come. But I digress, Luna had changed overnight.

"What do you mean by that…? We are sisters, we are meant to rule together. We have always ruled together."

"Have we…? Have we really?" Luna screeched as lightning flashed behind her. I did not notice before but the sky had grown dark. The clouds had eclipsed the sun from view completely. Lightning was flashing through the sky and thunder sounded across the earth below. "Have the citizens noticed that I've been missing?! Has anything changed since I've been gone?! Have you acknowledged that you've turned your sister away?! Did it occur to you, my dear sister that you should have come to look for me…?" Luna paused here, and her head was held high. She looked down on the older pony with contempt and hatred.

"I…I…I..." For once in her life, Celestia was left speechless. For someone who had spent two centuries connecting with the ponies in her kingdom and delivering speeches to said denizens, her charisma was utterly useless now.

"Yes…You never saw the world the same way I did. You never understood me the way mother did. It is obvious you do not truly care for me either. You are a good leader, but you are not a good sister." Luna walked menacingly toward her older sister before sending another wave of magic towards her.

It was not like anything Celestia had ever seen. It was nothing like I had ever seen either. Her magic arced forward before wrapping itself around my older daughter like a whip. She was visibly struggling beneath the bonds but it did nothing. She couldn't even use her magic in that position.

"It is your turn now sister…It is your turn to feel alone and useless." Luna turned her back on the older alicorn and walked away. Equestria was a large kingdom to protect and look over. Soon, her kingdom would come to love her too. A teardrop hit the clouds in front of her but Luna's eyes remained dry and steady. She could handle this. She would do better, and the ponies of Equestria would come to love her…She simply had to believe that. "Tomorrow will dawn in darkness. The night time has begun."

Several weeks passed without any change. Luna ruled over Equestria alone. Her sister was locked in a tower in their palace, not that she tried very hard to escape. Luna visited her often to talk and deliver news of the happenings. Luna could not raise the sun no matter how hard she tried. Something was mysteriously stopping her from being able to. Without that ability, the other ponies realized very quickly that their beloved princess was missing. Their quick revelation only further fueled Luna's hatred and jealousy. They hadn't been this way when she was off traipsing with Sombra.

The ponies of Equestria were not faring much better and were very unhappy with the new rule. Without the sun, their crops refused to grow. The air grew colder with each passing day, and the pegasi could do nothing to change it. Frost grew on its own, without any warning, covering the roads and buildings. The earth was dying without the older princess and her sun.

However, no one dared to tell their new matriarch that. No one, except Sombra. One day, nearly a month after Luna had imprisoned her sister, he visited the castle. He found that Luna was merely watching her kingdom. The royal guards had all been dismissed the week before. She no longer felt she had the need for them.

"What are you doing Luna? I know you found the fountain and used it. It changed you."

"How dare you question Us! The better question is, what are you doing here?" Luna's back remained turned, ignoring the useless earth pony behind her. That was probably the best thing for her to do. She should have avoided Sombra's grasps at all costs.

"I came to check up on you. I've heard whispers that you've hidden Celestia somewhere in the kingdom and refuse to lower the moon. Do you have any idea what you're doing? The earth is dying. Food won't grow, and the ponies in Equestria aren't eating." Sombra's hoof smashed into the ground, destroying the perfectly good marble underneath and around him. There were cracks surrounding his hoofprint. "If you keep this up, everypony will starve to death."

"We are not trying to harm anyone!" Luna turned around, advancing on him with anger and murderous intent in her demeanor. "Am I so wrong to wish that they would see things like I do? Why shouldn't the ponies adore me?! Is it not within my right to hope that the ponies below will understand how I am feeling?! My own sister does not understand!"

"If that is all you want, then talk to them. Let the world see you as Luna and not a princess. I have seen that side of you. I have seen you as just a pony with the desire to be understood and loved. I understand that. I understand you. If I can see the light that your night brings, then so can everyone else. Trust me, we can change their minds." Sombra reached a hoof toward her as a gesture of goodwill. Luna looked at him with both sadness and guilt.

The words he had said struck a chord with her. He did understand her. They did talk the way she used to with her mother. It had been so comfortable the nights they had been together, she had forgotten that she was a princess. My dear Luna reached out her left hoof and touched his.

It was all a trap however, because the moment he touched her, magic flowed around and through him. Purple sparks and light resembling the spells she normally used lifted him into the air, imbuing him with power. He grew a horn, something unprecedented in history as normally alicorns came with wings as well. When the magic disappeared, the pony before my beloved Luna was someone she did not recognize. His red eyes glowed green, and a demonic horn sprouted from his head. He opened his mouth, and she could see fangs.

Luna was rooted to the ground with shock. All the anger she had been housing earlier seemed to disappear. The only thing she could do was stare at the unicorn before her. "What…happened?"

"The exchange of power. Everything that had made you stronger now resides in me. I no longer need you nor this pathetic land. I will have my own kingdom, and you celestial sisters will not be able to stop me. I will take my place as king." Sombra smiled, showing off all his sharp teeth.

Luna wanted to recoil but she found that she could no longer move. The only thing she could do was watch. Dark magic, the likes of which she had never seen, glowed from his horn and he disappeared without a trace.


	5. Sombra

**A/N: Second to last chapter. Next one will come in a week or two.**

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Luna hurried to tower where her sister was kept. Celestia did not even turn to look at her. Perhaps she was used to seeing her sister look at her with those tired eyes. She kept her head down, ignoring her sister.

My younger daughter's horn glowed for minute, and the binds around Celestia vanished. She was free. "You're letting me go? But what of your eternal night?" Celestia's voice was sarcastic, dripping with irony. The rest of the world never saw her like this, bitter, and perhaps even normal.

"I don't know what came over me these past few weeks but it's gone now. Sombra was here earlier, and when he touched me, he changed into a different pony. He grew fangs and a red horn. Sister, he has magic… He says he'll conquer his own kingdom." Luna said all of this in one breath, as if she was in a hurry. It was impossible to go after him now without any idea where he was but my younger daughter failed to see that.

"Calm down my sister, it seems that whatever dark magic possessed you earlier is gone. It may have instead infected Sombra…" Celestia appeared thoughtful. Everything she had said before was obvious. A simpleton could see that. The only thing that might've been difficult to understand was how the loathsome pony was not already evil before this course of events. "At any rate, we should return this kingdom to the glory it once was. Canterlot will die if we do not."

The following weeks went by quickly. My daughters returned to their old pattern of raising the sun in the mornings and lowering it when night should rise. The crops eventually grew again, the ponies played during the day, and slept at night. Luna watched their dreams chasing away their nightmares of her. The kingdom was at peace. However, Luna's heart ached at the thought that somewhere outside the borders of their kingdom, Sombra was still being possessed by the powers of the windigo.

One afternoon, several weeks later, after Celestia had given a speech addressing Luna's odd behavior the months before, Princess Cadence flew in to greet the royal sisters. "Princess Celestia!"

"Ahh, Mi Amore Cadenza, whatever are you doing here?" Celestia looked down at her friend over her glasses. The younger pony did not look any different after the years that they had spent apart. She looked as young as ever.

"It's the Crystal Empire. A dark colt has invaded the kingdom. He's breached my defenses and enslaved my people. I need your help to stop him. You and Luna are the only ones I can turn to for help. After the defeat of Discord, I believe that the Elements of Harmony are the only things with enough power to defeat him." Cadance's eyes pleaded with the older mare. My dear daughter's heart was not made out of stone. Of course she would help this lost princess. That would be the right thing to do. It was the only thing for her to do.

"Me and Luna will depart right away. You are free to stay at my kingdom until I return." She gave a nod toward her guards to take Cadence into a different room and trotted off to Luna's tower. Luna did a variety of things when she did not have to raise the moon. One of those things was sleeping but the other was playing Fighting is Magic, a rather distasteful game about ponies fighting each other.

Celestia lifted a hoof to knock on Luna's door. "Sister? May I come in? I have urgent news."

Purple magic glowed around the doorknob and it opened with a click. Luna was looking through her telescope, searching for something in the pale light of the afternoon. "What is it?"

"I believe we've located Sombra." Luna's head snapped to attention, whatever she was looking for no longer seemed important. "How?"

"Mi Amore Cadenza has returned. She tells me that a unicorn has breached the defenses of her kingdom. I believe that it is Sombra."

"Then what are we waiting for?! Prepare the carriages. We must leave at once!" Luna snapped. She rushed past her sister but the older mare held her back by the tail.

"No! We do not know what kind of magic Sombra possesses. We must formulate a plan. We cannot fail." Celestia's words were slow and measured, as if she was afraid she would say the wrong thing. What that wrong thing was, I had no idea.

"The Elements of Harmony will protect us. Let us march on." Luna yanked her tail from her sister's mouth and trotted off to the grounds where her carriage would surely be waiting. The older mare sighed and followed her. They flew past Cloudsdale and the Neighagra Falls to the Frozen North. Despite the strength of the ponies pulling their carriage, it was a long and tiring trip, urged forward by Luna's need for speed. They had reached the Crystal Empire long before the rising of the moon.

There was snow all around them. It covered the mountains and it raged against their faces. Celestia and Luna flew down to walk before they reached the city. The wind kept the carriages back. As they neared the castle, black lightning lit the sky. Dark stalagmite rose from the ground and the walls. Grey ponies walked around them, their hooves kept together by chains.

Standing above them, looking down with glee was none other than Sombra himself. His smile was wide enough that Luna could see his fangs. He looked every bit the monster he truly was.

"Quick Luna, the elements!" Celestia whispered. The six orbs of power glowed in the chest next to them. Luna could feel the power coursing through her veins: Generosity, kindness, magic, the elements that she possessed and only she could control.

The two sisters rose in the air, channeling the power beneath them and shot an immense amount of energy at the city in front of them. There was a sound like the breaking of glass and every head turned to look at the two princesses. A few of the crystal ponies looked frightened, a few looked hopeful, but most of them turned their heads back to the ground and kept walking as if nothing happened.

"Ahh, my dear princesses. What brings you to my lovely kingdom? Have you seen my might and now become jealous?" His voice was deeper and playful. It was not a voice that Luna recognized. It was a challenge.

"We've come to stop you Sombra! You have no right to rule over these ponies." Celestia shouted down to him. "We've come to rid this kingdom of your heinous rule."

It was a lovely speech in my opinion, full of authority and righteousness. However, the words sounded foreign to Luna's ears. She had not come to save the ponies but to save Sombra himself. She wanted him to turn back to the way he had been: kind and honest. "We cannot let you continue this idiotic rampage in Mi Amore Cadenza's kingdom. You do not have the right to rule and I will stop you."

He ignored my older daughter, as if she hadn't spoken but it was clear that he heard everything he said. "Will you, Luna? Really?" Sombra sneered. "Stop me? You wouldn't dare. I will not step down. The only thing you can do is kill me. Will you kill me Luna? Your only friend and confident? Will you kill the only person on this earth that will listen to your problems and understand you in a way that your sister can not? His face was smiling but it was malicious, as if he was about to tear apart an especially large present on Christmas morning.

Luna did not answer him. She could not answer him. She couldn't possible kill him. Not after those nights they spent together and his reassuring hand when she did not know what she was doing with her preposterous rule.

Celestia looked at her sister without any pity. Her face showed only surprise that there could be any hesitation. "We've come this far to stop him Luna. Will you not take up arms to fight him out of this kingdom? People are suffering. We are the only ones who can stop him. We must be the ones who stop him." Celestia said the last sentence a little more forcefully, as if the pressure could make Luna do what she wanted. If only it could.

"He's being possessed. The power of the windigos is doing this to him." Luna whispered. "This isn't his fault." She was being silly. He was doing this out of his own free will. She had to see that.

"You're being ignorant Luna. How can you deny what you've seen with your own eyes? He's enslaving these ponies for no reason. He is making them miserable for no gain. He is sadistic. You did not do this when you were possessed by the windigos. This is not their doing. This is all his own. All of this is a result of his evil. And if you will not destroy him, then I will!" Celestia returned to the ground and the Elements of Harmony glowed around her.

"I may not be able to control magic the same way you can, but as long as you are here, then it will exist. I will use your magic to lock him away whether you are willing to help me or not." Celestia's eyes glowed white, and that glow turned to a swirl as it rained down on Sombra and the kingdom. She heard a scream as his body seemed to be melted by the light. His body disappeared before Luna's very eyes. It was as if the light from Celestia's magic had turned him to ash and smoke.

Her eyes watered at the sight. The crystal ponies were disappearing as well as the stalagmite. As the light turned gold, it became impossible for Luna to keep her eyes open. With her eyes closed, all she could hear were screams. Screams of terror. Screams of rage. All of it frightened her. When she opened her eyes again, the light was gone. The only thing in front of her was a ring of ice where the kingdom, and her only friend had been.


	6. Celestia's Choice

**A/N: I am an awful person. It's been what? People have been waiting a month for the ending of this story? Jesus... I hope this last chapter is worth it because if it isn't, I'll feel really bad.** **Part of it was because I wanted to use the animations from Comic Con in the last part of the story. It's part head cannon, part prediction. We'll see what happens. **

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The weeks that followed were extremely taxing on both of my daughters. Luna kept herself locked away in her tower. She refused to look her sister in the eye and Celestia decided that it was once again, time to do the duties that her sister refused. She raised the sun and the moon on her own and her citizens was all she saw. Days turned to nights without either of them seeing or speaking to each other.

Sombra's disappearance did not go unnoticed. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza did not have a home to return to, so she "conveniently" took up residence with my daughters. This did not go unnoticed by Luna, who had grown to dislike her presence. She would grimace whenever the older pony walked by.

You see, it was not because Luna disliked the strange princess. She merely could not stand the sight of her because it meant that the Crystal Empire was truly gone and Sombra with it. She would rise every evening in the hopes that it had all been a dream and that Sombra would be waiting for her outside Canterlot. That foolish hope was the source behind all her dismay and suffering.

Sombra had somehow sunk his claws into my daughters. Not a day went by without her pining for that devious colt. She should not have done so but it was as if she had no mental control. It was disappointing to say the least, but it was infuriating as the nights wore on. She would look for him, the silly girl, and when she did not find him, she would sulk like a child. She was close to a thousand years old and nearly a deity, and here she was, pining away for a colt that was worth close to nothing.

It was utterly frustrating.

However, it all changed that fateful night. Luna had not slept that day. Her sister had caused the rise of the moon once more. Luna looked towards the celestial body as if it was a friend who betrayed her. "You belong to me. You were supposed to belong to me, but you do not. I do not have anything that is truly my own, do I? Sombra… My only friend, taken from me by the sister I loved. The moon, the duty I owed to the world, taken by the sister who can do anything. My nights, the beauty that I once brought to the world, hiding in the shadow of my sister's glorious light. What do I have left?"

She flew to the Frozen North by herself. No one would look for her, as no one had seen her for weeks. She flew onward, ignoring her growling hunger and tired eyes. When she arrived, she could feel the cold biting at her cheeks. "Sombra! Sombra!" She screamed his name with a wild fury, as if he could hear her if she screamed loud enough.

She screamed until her voice was hoarse. She ran through piles of snow until her shoes were too cracked and broken to provide any more protection. With each step she took, she realized how pointless her journey had become. "SOOOMMMMMMMBRA! COME OUT! PLEASE! Please!" She stopped running and collapsed into the snow. "Please… Don't leave me all alone…"

Slowly, very slowly, her eyes began to close as the snow whirred around her.

It was still dark, when she had awoken, the storm had ended. She was covered in snow, but the war around her had ceased. She felt anew. The loneliness in her had disappeared but it had been replaced with something worse, something that even I could not comprehend. She immediately returned to the palace, with one clear objective in mind: She would fight her sister for the right to rule. She would become Queen and the sole ruler of Equestria.

It was a few days later when she arrived in the throne room. The moon was about to be lowered for the rise of the sun. Her sister was nowhere in sight however. Luna walked up to Celestia's throne, and brushed the seat with her hooves. The look on her face was endearing, as if she was looking into the face of her mother. When I saw it, I knew there was something horribly wrong.

My favorite daughter had gone horribly wrong.

She sat down on the throne, watching the skies for Celestia's arrival. When her sister landed on the balcony of the castle, she watched as the older pony's horn began to glow, preparing for the end of the night.

"Celestia…" Luna's breath carried the name. If they had not been gods, it would be possible that her sister would not have heard her.

"Luna…? My dear sister, I thought you would hide yourself forever in your tower. Whatever are you doing on my throne? Come by me, and help me lower the moon." Celestia walked toward us, a small but undeniable smile on her face.

Luna ended that almost immediately. "Not another step! I won't do it."

Celestia stepped back, alarmed. "What are you talking about?"

"I won't lower the moon. It will stay where it belongs, as the sole guardian of the night sky."

As Celestia's surprise faded, she continued to step forward. She put a comforting hoof around her sister. "You can't honestly intend to make night last forever Luna. We create harmony and balance. If you don't lower the moon, it would just make all of our loyal subjects unhappy."

Luna pushed her sister's hoof away. "How dare you?! In my absence, you've taken my work. The ponies in the world below do not even notice my absence. They do not deserve the privileges I give them! They do not have the right to see your rising sun. "

Celestia's surprise now returned in full force. She looked around her throne room, searching for an answer. "But I…I had no other choice…You would not do it, and… and I could not allow my subjects to suffer. Surely, you wouldn't want our subjects to be in a state of unhappiness, dear sister."

"And what of me? Aren't I allowed to be happy?" My younger daughter's eyes filled with tears. They appeared like little crystals, things that could be broken if they fell on the ground. "He made me happy dear sister. Why…Why did you lock him away? I begged you not to in the Crystal Mountains! You took him away from me!"

"You must understand! He was not a good colt. His heart was filled with darkness. He needed to be banished." Celestia's voice showed how tired she was. This argument had not taken as much time as she thought to be conceived. It was the truth. He had been a bad colt, and he had destroyed the Crystal Empire himself, not the two of them.

"Is that what you tell yourself so as not to feel guilt? You are foolish dear sister…Your need to justify yourself is proof of just how wrong you are." Luna's voice carried her anger. Celestia heard it, and seemed to be paralyzed by it, turned to stone in the face of her sister's wrath.

"Would you do the same to me if my heart was filled with darkness? Do our subjects mean more to you than I do? No one in this kingdom cares for me, neither my subjects nor you." Luna's voice grew cold with that last sentence. Whatever passion it had once held disappeared. It was an accusation.

Celestia had had enough. She started to lower the moon but in the midst of her spell, it stopped. "I won't let you do this. Did you really expect me to sit idly by as they all basked in your precious light?!" Luna got off the thrown and crushed a small statue that had been in the hall. "There can only be one princess in Equestria, and that princess will be me!" Luna closed her eyes and when they opened again, they had grown wide with surprise and fear. Dark shadows surrounded her, shrouding her with its power. Before me stood a mare that was no longer my sweet daughter. She was stronger, taller, and much more sinister. Her laugh ran like a declaration of death. "I refuse to be in your shadow anymore! Your dawn will be greeted by my darkness!"

My daughter prepared themselves to fight for my kingdom, even if it meant a fight to the death. Their horns clashed, magic sentencing each other to oblivion. It was clear who was winning. Even without her new powers, my Luna, was the stronger unicorn. This was not only true by brute strength but by magic as well.

After several blows, it was clear that Celestia would lose and Luna would begin her reign. "Forfeit, my dear weaker sister, before I turn your body to smoke." Celestia was on the ground. Her eyes were fighting to stay open as Luna sneered above her.

"Never…My dear sister… You've left more than just me and this kingdom behind. You've left one other thing as well."

She cackled. "What?"

Celestia closed her eyes but it did not matter. Light glowed from behind the throne. My older daughter had hidden the Elements of Harmony within fighting distance. She had prepared herself for attack from even her very own sister. Celestia's horn glowed yellow once more, and the elements attacked.

The charge of magic was blinding and fierce. My younger daughter was incinerated. The only indication she had been there at all was a burn mark on the carpet in the hall. Celestia slumped to the ground. She had known the consequences. She knew what this meant.

The Elements of Harmony held great power but to pit them against one another was a violation of their original use. To violate their code also meant destroying their powers completely. The Elements had completely turned to stone, unusable by either of my daughters. Celestia did not even bother looking at them, they were useless now.

She did however, move her head so that she could look at the spot where her sister had once been. Luna was gone. She had been sent to the sky to be held inside the moon itself. Her face could be seen on the surface. I could see it myself. Celestia watched it with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, my sister, you gave me no other choice. But yes, you were right. What I did to Sombra, I would also do to you. That is what it means to be a leader, you make hard choices where the just choice is neither happy nor right."

She rested her head once more and closed her eyes. "Guard her, father. Take care of Luna and bring her back to me someday." I was not sure if she was talking to me, for neither of them ever knew I was their father, but at that moment, I pretended that she did. It did not matter to me whether or not they knew. I had to guard them all the same.

To the young pony who has found my last and most important grimoire, this is the truth behind the legend of the celestial sisters. If someday you find this recounting of those events, warn her. Warn Celestia of what I will do. In a thousand years I, Starswirl the Bearded, will aid in the escape of Nightmare Moon. She will come after Celestia. Protect your princess, and aid in their reunion. Bring them back to peace and harmony, or the night will last forever.

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** A/N: That's it, that last paragraph was to really put Starswirl in character. Make the readers feel like a pony, maybe even Twilight Sparkle.**


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